9 episodes
How do I sponsor a refugee? Mark Bigland-Pritchard
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- Education
In Canada, private citizens are able to rescue people internationally from the misery of the refugee experience and support them through the process of adapting to Canadian society. This podcast is for people who want to explore this experience of sponsorship. We will take you through the practicalities, hear from sponsors and newcomers, and look at the root causes behind the global crisis of forced displacement.
Mennonite Central Committee was the first organization to sign a contract with the Canadian government to manage private sponsorship, back in 1979. Many things have changed since then, but this podcast draws on the experience of many people within MCC.
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Where do the world's refugees flee from? Where do they go? And where does private sponsorship fit in to this big picture?
For this episode we step back a bit, to look at the global picture. Brian tells us about the data that UNHCR collects, the categories of displaced people, the countries from which the largest numbers of people are leaving, the countries hosting the most, the place of private sponsorship in this big picture, and some of the other "complementary" routes to get people to safety.
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Why are there so many refugees in the world?
OK, so if you've followed us so far you will now know the basics of how to sponsor a refugee. But why has this become necessary? - why are there refugees? And why is the number of displaced people in the world steadily increasing? The answers are inevitably complex, and vary from place to place - but in this episode we offer an introduction to the root causes. Future podcasts will look at some of the issues raised in a little more detail.
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Money matters
As with all things in our society, so with refugee sponsorship: sorting out the money is important.
This week's episode is different because we need to give you some visuals. So I will keep it short and send you to a link on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdHlifGm55k
Next week, we will look a little at some of the root causes of the global displacement crisis. But for now, to understand how financing a refugee sponsorship works, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdHlifGm55k and watch.
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Waiting for the arrival
Once we have sent in all the papers to apply to bring a refugee or a refugee family, we usually have a long wait while officials process the application first in Ottawa and then at a visa office abroad. In this episode, Kate and Mark talk about why it takes so long, and what to do meanwhile. There are also some brief but important comments about when it is appropriate to approach the authorities who are dealing with the application.
The next episode will be a very short podcast, directing you to a youtube video showing one way of keeping financial records for a sponsorship. This is important because IRCC may want to see the evidence that you have provided people with at least the minimum they require.
In later episodes we will run interviews with newcomers and with sponsorship groups about their experience, and we will look at some of the reasons why so many people worldwide are displaced from their homes and communities.
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How do I apply to the Canadian government?
Getting the paperwork right can be really important when dealing with Canadian officials! So in this episode Kate and Mark talk through the government forms that need to be completed in order to be able to sponsor someone - together with a warning about the length of time that it can take between submitting the application and the newcomers' arrival. Besides the government paperwork, the relationship between the Sponsorship Agreement Holder and the sponsorship team is important to the success of the sponsorship - so they talk a bit about the paperwork that gets that started too.
After this episode, there will be just one more podcast episode and one youtube video about what is involved in taking on this work, guided by respectful relationships and by the needs of the people you are helping. In later episodes we will run interviews with newcomers and with sponsorship groups about their experience, and we will look at some of the reasons why so many people worldwide are displaced from their homes and communities.
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What will I do when the people arrive?
In this episode, Kate and Mark talk through the tasks, the roles and the necessary sensitivities of refugee sponsors. They address bureaucratic necessities; financial, medical and other Canadian systems; language learning; and learning from each other across cultures.
We will continue to go into detail in the next couple of episodes about what is involved in taking on this work, guided by respectful relationships and by the needs of the people you are helping. In later episodes we will run interviews with newcomers and with sponsorship groups about their experience, and we will look at some of the reasons why so many people worldwide are displaced from their homes and communities.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.